The present invention relates to a wall-marking device and more particularly to a device for marking on a wall the desired location for the installation of a support for a hanging article such as a picture.
Pictures, mirrors, and similar articles intended for display and decoration on a wall are generally equipped with some means for suspending the article from a support element such as nail or hanger that is mounted or installed on the wall. Pictures, for example, are commonly equipped with a wire or cord that is attached at opposite sides of the picture frame, or with a saw-tooth type bracket that is attached at the back of the top of the picture frame, by means of which the picture can be suspended from the wall-mounted nail.
The means for suspending the picture, whether the suspension element is a wire, a saw-tooth type bracket, or other similar means, is located at the back of the picture and is out of sight when the placement of the picture is considered. It is therefore difficult to determine precisely where to install the nail or other support element so that once the picture is suspended from the nail it is exactly positioned at the desired location. The least desirable way to determine the placement of the nail is by trial-and-error. The person hanging the picture may be forced to settle for a location that is deemed "close enough" to the desired location or be left with unsightly, extra holes made in the wall before the precise nail-mounting location is identified.
Various devices have been disclosed as aids for locating the desired position for mounting the picture-supporting nail or similar support element. Floyd, U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,776, discloses a picture-hanging apparatus for marking the location at which a hanger for supporting the picture may be attached to a wall. The device includes a retracted wall-marking element that is pushed from its retracted position by means of a plunger-activated spring to mark a wall at the desired location.
Aydelott, in patent application Ser. No. 07/805,588, discloses a wall-marking device that includes a rigid handle interconnected by a pivoting assembly to the upper end of a rigid support from which the picture is suspended and including the wall-marking element.
The devices disclosed by Aydelott and Floyd support the picture while the site for the location of the picture hanger is selected. The entire weight of the picture is borne by the device, so the device must be tightly gripped and carefully moved to prevent the device from slipping from the hand and to prevent the accidental displacement of the picture from the device.
Eisen, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,309 discloses a picture hanging aid which is adhesively attached, first to the back of the picture and then to the wall. After removing the picture from the device, the desired location is marked with reference to the device as it adheres to the wall. Although the device is not required to support the weight of the picture, the adhesive employed by the device may damage the picture or the wall during its application to and removal from wall and picture. In addition, the adhesive is only effective for a single application, and if the device is inadvertently misapplied, it cannot be reused.
What is still needed is a simple, reusable device which is attachable to a picture in such a way it is not required to support the weight of the picture during its use in determining the proper placement of a nail or hanger for eventual support of the picture in the desired location. Such a wall-marking device, attachable to the picture, would preferably be self-supporting after attachment to the picture.